cnn
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When Linn Grant left the course at Halmstad Golf Club in Tylösand, Sweden, she found herself surrounded by a group of young fans.
Clamoring for everything in the Swede's golf bag, they excitedly waved their pens in hopes of getting an autograph. Grant, duly obliged, signed everything from caps to golf balls.
It was a rumor worthy of a historic achievement: Grant had just become the first female winner on the DP World Tour with her victory at the Scandinavian Mixed event on June 12.
And as if making history wasn't enough, he did so in dominant fashion, topping the field of 156 players. A weekend-best eight-under 64 on the final day confirmed a commanding victory, with Grant's 24-under par par seeing her finish nine shots ahead of runners-up Marc Warren and fellow Swede Henrik Stenson , and 14 strokes ahead of the next player. Gabriella Cowley.
The victory was made even sweeter by the fact that it was a home victory, in every sense of the word. His boyfriend Pontus Samuelsson caddied, with friends and family supporting him among an ecstatic Swedish crowd.
“I could feel the atmosphere there,” Grant told CNN Sport. “I felt like it was just because I was from there, but after sitting in the car on the way home, I saw calls on social media, journalists reaching out… it all just grew… it's a little crazy.”
Minjee Lee's victory at the US Women's Open a week earlier had earned the Australian $1.8 million, the largest payout in the history of women's golf. However, Lee's record-breaking earnings were eclipsed by the record $3.15 million that England's Matt Fitzpatrick took home for winning the men's event just a week later.
With her historic victory making headlines around the world, Grant is optimistic that her success will help women's football take another step forward.
“I think a lot of people can identify with women's golf,” perhaps even more than men's golf, she said, because “they [men] until now and the courses are not long enough.”
“I hope it has some kind of effect that people can look at it and see that we are a group of players that are that good, we hit the ball far enough, close enough, we keep the putts and we score well.
“I just hope more people realize that. And then we look better and are nicer too! Grant added with a smile.
Having just turned 23 a week after the win, the victory in Halmstad marked the latest peak in what has been a meteoric rise for Grant since turning professional in 2021.
Three wins in four months on the Ladies European Tour (LET) have helped Grant move into second place in The Race to Costa del Sol, a 28-tournament LET season that will crown a winner at the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open in Spain. in November. Incredibly, she leads the chasing pack despite playing the fewest events of any of the nine highest-scoring players on Tour.
While some players struggle with the jump from amateur to professional, Grant has thrived.
“My last year as an amateur, every time I got out of the winning zone, it was almost like I wasn't motivated anymore,” Grant said.
“The feeling that now I'm playing for money, that it's my way of making a living, I suddenly feel like it doesn't matter. [dropping out of the zone]. “If I can birdie the last one, I can still win more than if I didn’t.”
The only player who surpasses Grant in The Race to the Sunshine Coast is his childhood friend Maja Stark. Teammates on the Swedish national team from a young age and students at the same high school, the duo share a close bond.
“I always encourage her and hope she does the same for me, and I know she does,” Grant said.
“It's nice to have someone there who knows the situation you're in and to be able to talk about things that other people can't understand or just don't understand.”
Not that their friendship has stopped Grant from declaring a desire to pursue and defeat Stark in Spain as one of his key goals of the season.
With Johanna Gustavsson behind Grant, an all-Swedish trio at the top of The Race to the Costa del Sol reflects the Nordic country's dominance in the LET and Sweden's growing golf stock, which has already produced a legend in the sport.
In Annika Sorenstam, Grant has an imposing role model. Sorenstam, co-founder of the Scandinavian Mixed event, forged one of the greatest careers in women's golf history with 10 major wins and 72 LPGA tournament victories before her professional retirement in 2008.
Grant cites two reasons for the recent increase in top-level female players in the country: the investment and effort of the Swedish Golf Federation to grow the game and, paradoxically, the harsh Nordic climate.
With snowy conditions shortening the country's golf season, Swedish players must work harder to maximize training, and Grant spends the “lost” practice time on other activities that will help his game, such as the gym.
“We can't play 12 months a year, which makes you a little hard,” he explained. “It's zero degrees, you just go out and hit wedges or whatever you need to practice with.”
With her historic victory in the Scandinavian mixed event, it seems that attitude is paying off and is helping Grant in her mission to grow the sport and act as a role model, not only for women but for all who follow her. they practice.
“If that win can help someone or just give someone a little extra motivation, I'm happy,” he said.
